Death Valley NP - Dante's View

Death Valley surprised us with much colder weather than we had expected for the end of May. We actually had to wear our jackets for most of the time. Still, the biggest surprise awaited us on a drive to Dante's View, where it started snowing on us and our car! (Earlier this year I posted a short movie of our drive to Dante's View featuring aforementioned snow.) Of course it prompted my husband to ask what kind of dessert it was if it was snowing there...

Dante's View raises 5'500 feet (1'700 m) above sea level and therefore allows for the great views of the central part of Death Valley, especially Badwater Basin and Devil's Golf Course. Both of them look much whiter and flatter from Dante's View than from up close:

Snow & sun = jacket & sunglasses:


If you would like to see how Death Valley floor looks from here on a clear day, check out my photos from 2007.

Death Valley NP - Artist's Drive and Palette

Artist's Drive is a scenic road leading to a rock formation called Artist's Palette. As their names suggest, these places are famous for having various colors of rock (red, pink, yellow, green and purple) caused by the oxidation of different metals.

This time around I only took one photo there, so if you want to see more, check out my post from the previous visit there.


Other posts about Death Valley.

Death Valley NP - Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin is a salt flat and, at 282 ft (85.5m) below sea level, it is the lowest point in North America. It is called "bad water" because the salts that accumulate there give it a bitter taste and make its water undrinkable.










Other posts about Death Valley.

Death Valley NP - Zabriskie Point

I find Zabriskie Point very photogenic, but so far I never managed to explore it outside the viewpoint area:




Here I am in front of the viewpoint:


If you want to see Zabriskie Point at sunset check out my photos from the 2007 trip to Death Valley with Ania and Molli.

Other posts about Death Valley.

Death Valley NP - Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

From the Mosaic Canyon we drove to the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, which did not seem to be thrilled to see us, and were, literally, throwing sand into our eyes. Even though the sun was hiding behind the clouds, I kept on wearing sunglasses on my nose, and the hood over my head, to protect myself from the sand, but it seemed to have only partial protective effect.

Still, the dunes were so beautiful and mysteriously magical that we decided to ignore the wind and sand, and ventured for a little hike there:










Other posts about Death Valley.

A short movie that we took at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

Death Valley NP - Mosaic Canyon hike

Day 2 of our honeymoon we started with 1-mile long hike into the Mosaic Canyon. It is a short, but nice hike, especially during the first 0.25 miles, where the canyon is narrowest and most colorful. Unfortunately, we were there on a gloomy and overcast day, so the canyon did not get a chance to present itself to us from its best side.

Entrance to the canyon:

Isn't it amazing that some plants are able to live on a bare rock?

My sportive husband :)

Other posts about Death Valley.

Death Valley NP - Darwin Falls hike

The first park that we visited during our honeymoon was Death Valley NP. As it took as *only* 6h to get from San Francisco to the park's western entrance, we still had enough sunlight to go for a short hike there.

We opted for a 2.2 mile long hike to Darwin Falls near Panamint Springs that our guidebook introduced as "a must-do desert hike". The same guidebook called this hike "easy enough for young children". Well, I would disagree with both of these statements. I do not think this hike is "a must-do" for anybody visiting Death Valley and I do not think it is appropriate for families with small kids.

I guess if we had spent a few days in a desert and then had gone for this hike, we might have been more appreciative of it. Coming from the beautiful Bay Area full of lush green valleys, creeks and waterfalls, it was difficult to see the beauty of this hike.

As for its easiness, I do not want to claim that it was difficult (as it wasn't), but describing it as a "family hike" is definitely pushing it. More than once we had trouble recognizing were the trail was going and we needed to negotiate some boulders to continue the hike (Anil was ready to turn back at least couple of times...). Also several times we needed to cross a stream on slippery rocks, which I found a bit difficult in a long skirt and sandals, and I can imagine that a child with shorter legs and maybe worse sense of balance, might also have problems with.

The hike starts in a green valley full of birds:


One of several stream crossings:


Habibi trying to fly over the creek:


The waterfall at the end of the hike:


Other posts about Death Valley.

Snow in Death Valley

While in Death Valley we experienced two very awesome natural phenomena: (1) moving sand in and around Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, and (2) snow! in June! in Death Valley!

Moving sand in Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes:


Snow on the way to Dante's view, Zabriskie Point, Painter's Palette, and coyote:

Death Valley: Dante's View

Dante’s View is a breathtaking viewpoint overlooking most of Death Valley. We did two short ridge hikes there to get a better view of the valley. It was also our last stop in Death Valley during this trip, but I am sure that I will come back there more than once in my life (something tells me that probably I will even go there still this year...)

Moli with his best friend, GPS:


View of the valley from the parking lot (an option for the lazy ones):


Me and Death Valley:


Dante's Ridge trail:


Devil's Golf Course:


Ania and Moli:

Death Valley: Golden Canyon

One of the longer hikes (around 2-3h round trip) that we did in Death Valley was the Golden Canyon trail leading to Red Cathedral. This hike was not difficult per se, but still it was pretty demanding as it was so incredibly hot there! Basically, we were moving from one side of the canyon to the other in the search of the shade. Still the views were so great, that the hike was definitely worth the effort.

Death Valley: Artist's Drive

Our next destination was Artist's Drive. It is a scenic loop drive through multi-hued volcanic and sedimentary hills. The colors of the mountains there were absolutely beautiful, but again, we had problems with enjoying it, as it was extremely windy there. Actually, it was so windy that we even had trouble with walking!

Moli took few photos of Ania and me, which aimed at illustrating how windy it was. As you can see my trousers are inflated and my hair are a mess. Even Ania's hair (even though braided at the time) were flying in the wind:

Death Valley: Devil's Golf Course & Natural Bridge hike

On the next day (meaning day 3 of our stay in Death Valley) we visited Devil’s Golf Course, an immense area of rock salt eroded by wind and rain into jagged spires. It was so incredibly windy there, that we figured, only devil could play golf there (hence it's name).







From Devil's Golf Course we went for a short hike to Natural Bridge.

Natural Bridge itself:


Ania, Moli and I in front of the bridge:


View from the Natural Bridge trail to Devil's Golf Course:


No idea what's happening on this one:


BTW, did I mention that it was windy?


Wiiinnnndddyyyy....